


how to ensnare males with the art of baking

by cottontale



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Levi is a total sweetheart, M/M, One Shot, and Eren is just a dork who can't help but word vomit, baking au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-27
Updated: 2014-03-27
Packaged: 2018-01-17 04:57:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1374661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cottontale/pseuds/cottontale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'An instructional guide on how to ensnare males with the art of baking' by Eren Jaeger (and Armin Arlert)</p><p>or the one in which Eren falls for a regular customer without even knowing his name and decides to win his heart with baked goods.</p>
            </blockquote>





	how to ensnare males with the art of baking

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I was a barista, not a baker, so I apologize if I made the cookies incorrectly lol
> 
> so out of character, slay me

The man came into the little cafe every morning, seven o' clock on the dot, to order a medium drip and a chocolate chip cookie. As a baker-in-training, Eren had yet to be granted access to the kitchen and the priceless ovens. His best friend and coworker was slowly teaching him how to not put his sleeves into the bowl of dough, and how not to crack an egg open and leave half the shell with the yolk. But he was learning and slowly falling for the stranger he'd only said a few words to. 

Eren would hand over the cookie in a paper bag, along with the coffee, and offer him a good morning. The man would only hum or nod, sometimes (see: every Monday) not even returning his greetings. But without fail, he'd walk out of the cafe and give the blind man on the side of the street his coffee. 

At first, Eren had to swallow back a choking cough. The man didn't seem like the type to be so kind or thoughtful, with his monosyllabic vocabulary and permanent scowl. Yet Eren had been pleasantly surprised, so on mornings the man was extra sour, he'd toss in another cookie no charge. The man never questioned him, but his frown softened minutely every time it happened. And once, he had said thank you. The swirling warmth from his belly settled to his toes that morning and Eren knew he was a goner.

So weeks later, he was desperate.

"Armin, please help!" Eren grabbed his coworker, who was straightening out the display of artfully decorated cupcakes. 

"Whoa, watch out, cupcakes are in danger." Armin swayed to put the plate down and huffed. "Help with what?" 

"Okay, well it kind of just happened," He began, but Armin burst out laughing. "What's so funny?" 

The blond smiled knowingly. 

"The last time you said that to me, you broke the display case with a man's face for flirting with Krista."

Eren immediately bristled. "He was bothering her to the point of sexual harassment! And Mr. Smith didn't fire me, so it worked out." 

"You're lucky he didn't press charges. But anyway, what happened this time?" 

The baker-in-training sighed before sneaking a glance to the clock. Ten minutes until seven; until the man he kind of, sort of had fallen for would come in, most likely frowning because it was universal to hate Mondays. 

"I don't really know when it happened," Eren started over, rephrasing, pushing down his spike of anger at the reminder of the jerk who liked to harass his friends. "Maybe the minute he walked in? I don't know.... gosh Armin, what do I do?" 

"Um, you haven't exactly told me anything relevant, so I have no idea." Armin pressed, amused. He went back to fixing the new display case. 

"Right, sorry, I'm just--" Eren cut off, seeing the regular blind man settle down on the street, rubbing his hands together from the cold. "Good, he's here. Anyway, um, there's this guy. And... he's perfect. Like not Mr. Smith perfect, but I don't know, just... just perfect." 

"Eren," Armin closed the case, smiling gently. "I still don't get what you want help with." 

"Teach me how to bake cookies!" He yelled, cheeks dusting pink. 

Armin looked alarmed both at his volume and the statement, eyes wide. 

"So he's a customer, the guy you like?" Armin jumped to the conclusion quickly, connecting Eren's jumbled sentences together. "Wait, it's not Levi is it?" 

"L-Levi?" Eren repeated, trying to remember if he ever saw the man's name before. He hadn't, as the customer would always use cash, slipping whatever change left into the tip jar. Eren smiled goofily at the memory. 

"Yeah, Levi. He's a regular, you know him, he's always here at seven, drip and a cookie." 

"Oh..." Eren felt ridiculous, having fallen in love with someone he didn't even know the name of. But now that he knew, he couldn't stop smiling or repeating the name over and over again in his mind. "Levi."

"Of all the people to crush on," Armin mused, leaning against the counter, "You pick Levi?"

Eren crossed his arms defensively, looking at the clock again. Six more minutes. His heart sped up in anticipation.

"What's wrong with that?"

Armin quickly put his hands up in surrender, "Nothing is wrong, per-say, I'm just shocked. He's always so grumpy and you've barely spoken ten words to him."

"Just help me out, okay?"

"Sure," The blond walked to the door, flipping the  **closed**  sign to  **open**. "He'll be here any minute now though. I have time during lunch break." 

Eren smiled gratefully.

"Thanks, Armin." 

His best friend answered him back with an amused smile and walked to the kitchen, probably to start warming the ovens for the brunch crowd.

Impatiently, Eren watched the clock and willed it to move faster. Despite their short, professional conversations, Eren looked forward to them more than anything. Levi (he knew his name now,  _oh my gosh_ ) was just an interesting character, with his habits, manner of speaking, and outward appearance. 

Levi was short, sure, but he made up for his somewhat comical height with personality. He could command all attention in a room to him, or blend with the crowd. Levi always had a face to remember--soft underneath his harsh eyes and scowl, nose expressive. He'd either crinkle his nose in disgust or amusement whenever Eren messed up the transaction or touch the top of the drip.

But his musings were short-lived, interrupted by the man of his affections.

His ever-present frown was even worse than usual. His mouth was a thin line, jaw tight. His broad shoulders were tense in his suit and jacket, scarf curled fashionably around his neck. Eren blinked for a moment before trying to lightened the man's mood with a smile.

"Morning," Eren called, decided to leave out the 'good'. Levi looked like he would strangle a kitten if it looked at him wrong. "Drip and cookie?"

Levi looked relieved he didn't have to speak. He nodded shortly before bringing out the exact change for once. The moment he pushed the cash across the counter, he pulled out a bottle of hand-sanitizer and washed his hands. Eren mentally noted to be careful with what he touched.

He prepared the coffee first, simply pouring the drink straight from the maker into a to-go cup. He avoided touching the top, clipping the edges down with his fingertips. Next, Eren took out a sheet of wax paper, cautious and slow, taking an extra step to make sure he didn't touch the dessert. 

Cookie packed away neatly, Eren handed the goods over, avoiding skin contact despite how much he  _really_ wanted to touch the man. He punched in the order, put in the money, and smiled brightly. Levi blinked for a moment at how easy and pleasantly painless that social interaction had been. 

"Have a good day," Eren tacked on eventually, nervous at the man's blank stares. He glanced down at his nose and mouth, to double check if he had done something terribly wrong. 

Levi's mouth was smoothing out, not as thin. It was a good start, Eren thought, especially for a Monday. 

"Thanks." Levi said, tone flat as always. 

Eren nodded, having nothing to say other than 'please marry me'. 

He watched the customer leave, smiling once again as he leaned down to the blind man, handing him the cup of coffee and a few words he couldn't hear. Heart still beating wildly against his ribs, Eren let out a short breath and vowed to make Levi the best cookies  _ever_. 

-

They began at four am the next morning, early enough that they beat the sunrise. 

"Eren! Arms out of the bowl," Armin snapped, smacking his best friend on the arm with a wooden spoon. Eren yipped, still sleepy. "You said he was a stickler for cleanliness, so mind where you put your body." 

"Right!" Eren focused on his bowl of dough, determined to win Levi's heart with baked goods. 

Armin sighed dramatically, before going back to his book of recipes. 

"Okay, so to review: always measure out your ingredients before mixing. Dry and wet in separate bowls, and when you do mix, fold."

Eren was still a bit unsure how exactly you folded flour, but nodded anyway. He vaguely understood. 

"And pre-heat the oven before beginning. I always forget that one, so make sure you remember." 

"Got it!" Eren answered back, stirring continuously until the dough softened and the clumps evened out.

"All that's left is you finish mixing and spooning out the dough." Armin pulled out an automatic scooper from a drawers, eyes bright. "I am so thankful for this little guy. He's saved me so much time and dough."

Eren wasn't really paying attention, absorbed in making sure he stirred the set amount of times in the right direct. Clockwise and counter-clockwise always managed to trip him up. 

"That should be good," Armin commented, pulling Eren's hands away from the dough. "So let's scoop and bake these cookies." 

Grinning, absolutely excited, Eren grabbed the scoop and dish out appropriate sizes under Armin's eye onto the baking sheets and tray. He finished quickly, too impatient. 

"Baking weights," Armin reminded him as Eren went for the oven mitts. "So the wax paper doesn't curl and get into the cookies." 

The weights were small, heavy metal squares. They clacked against the tray, three on each side to successfully keep the paper flat. 

"And now we wait. Come on, let's clean everything up before Mr. Smith gets in." 

Eren helped Armin wipe down counters half-heartedly, glancing at the cookies and clock every other minute. Noticing his best friend's lack of attention, Armin took over most of the cleaning. Honestly, Eren's overall crush was kind of adorable. He'd eagerly jump into a conversation about Levi, or start one if Armin went quiet during breaks. And sometimes, when he thought Armin wasn't listening, he'd make up future conversations for the two. All-in-all, Armin approved despite knowing pretty much nothing about the man. 

"Morning boys." Mr. Smith opened the kitchen door, impeccable as always. He yawned behind a hand, but he made it look effortless and incredibly attractive. Eren felt himself twinge in jealously. Maybe Levi liked men who were always neat, polished, professional... He'd have to work on his manners. 

"Morning sir." They crowed in unison, Armin straightening at the sight of his boss while Eren continue to gaze longingly at the clock. 

"Baking so early?" Their boss arched a thick brow, but it worked for him. Armin felt self-conscious about his own suddenly. He resisted the urge to slap a hand over his forehead. 

"Uh..." Eren finally tuned in, flushing prettily to match the strawberry cupcakes on a far counter. 

"I was just helping Eren practice," Armin covered his fumble smartly, always having his back. Grateful, Eren smiled to confirm. "And we needed more chocolate chip cookies." 

Mr. Smith nodded, giving Eren a knowing side-look and smile. 

"Okay, well, work hard." He left shortly for his office. Eren twirled to face Armin. 

"Is smiling cryptically a thing for all you smart blonds? Just to spite the jokes?" He asked, crossing his arms, pouting pathetically to prove his point. 

Armin barked out a short laugh, "Yep." 

-

"Morning!" Eren told Levi, who took a single step into the cafe before pausing. Eren held back the urge to hide under the counter. He'd practically screamed at the man and even before he could fully walk inside. 

Levi looked amused, nose scrunching minutely before smoothing out. 

"Morning," He offered in return, voice low. Eren's stomach swooped warmly at the sound. 

Eren exhaled, smiling. Levi was so thoughtful it hurt, not calling out on his mess ups. 

"Your usual?" Eren asked, already facing the coffee maker. "Would you like one as well?" 

Levi hummed in confusion, tilting his head, hair falling over a tired eye. 

"Oh, well, I just noticed you always give your coffee to that man across the street. And, um," He didn't want to finish, but he had already started. "You look tired."

Biting his lip, hoping Levi wouldn't be insulted, Eren waited for the frown to return full-force. 

"No charge." He added after a moment, quick to pave over his previous mistake. People didn't exactly take kindly to pointing out how exhausted they looked. He knew he didn't. 

"Thank you." Levi's shoulders lowered slightly, voice smooth instead of toneless. If Eren dared think it, he was smiling (it was microscopic, sure, but his heart thumped dangerously anyway). 

"Of course," Eren answered, turning to take a gulp of air and pour two coffees. "Black? Milk, sugar?" 

Levi didn't respond immediately, but eventually said, "Milk." 

Eren finished the drips, one plain black, snapping on the lid carefully, but pulling out a chilled container of milk from under the counter. 

"I'll let you pour, so I don't mess it up." Eren placed the milk on the counter before turning to grab the cookie. He was so nervous, he accidentally slammed the display case open, rattling the glass. He swallowed when Levi looked at the noise. 

"You already broke it once," Levi commented, setting down the milk and taking the liberty to grab a straw from behind the counter and a lid. "Careful." 

Surprised, Eren smacked his head on the display. 

"You know about that?"

Levi snorted. 

"Erwin told me, so of course I know. And I come here everyday." 

Blushing to the roots, Eren shyly grabbed a still warm cookie and placed it in a bag. 

"Y-You know Mr. Smith?" He tried for conversation, beyond happy they were talking more than pleasantries. 

"I roomed with the fucker in college," Levi's scowl was back, but not as deep, like remembering a bad joke. "Helped him start this place." 

That was the first sign of his age, so Eren desperately grabbed onto the information. He vaguely remembered that his boss was about ten years older, give or take. 

"What did you study?" Eren asked, pushing the cookie towards the coffees slowly, not ready to ask for payment. Levi would have to leave then. 

"Business major," He paused to stare at Eren's playful and interested eyes. "Minored in History." Levi waited for the inevitable laughter or question of why in the world would he chose something so boring? But Eren continued to beam. 

"That's so great, I love History. I'm an Art History major, German minor." The baker continued to ramble on, too nervous and happy to stop, "But I finish next semester. I'm kind of nervous, like what the hell do I do with an Art History major? But it's whatever." He finished lamely, noticing how Levi was pulling out his wallet, no doubt to end the conversation sooner rather than later. 

"Do you plan on visiting Germany, then?"

Eren let out a joyful gasp, "Definitely! My family is practically all German and some Turkish on my mom's side. But I've always wanted to visit. I think I still have grandparents in Stuttgart." 

Levi nodded, pulled out a five before quickly cleaning his hands with sanitizer. 

Optimistic that Levi was even tolerating his rambling, Eren gave him his change and said, "Well, have a good day Levi."

He paused, putting the left over change in the empty tip jar. 

"You know my name?" 

_Fuck._

"Uh, I had to ask a coworker for it." Levi raised a brow, pocketing the cookie and taking hold of both coffees. 

"Why didn't you just ask me?" Levi asked. 

"I-I..." He fumbled to come up with anything. Honestly, he hadn't known exactly why until a few weeks earlier. "I just, um, was n-nervous." He settled for the truth, shyly looking away to the blind man on the street. Cheeks warm, he rocked on his feet. 

"Sorry, I have chronic bitch face." Levi brought his attention back, Eren's eyes wide. "What's your name?"

Hope rising in his chest, Eren leaned forward with a goofy smile. 

"I'm Eren." 

Levi raised a coffee with a bored-looking tip of the head. He was leaving slowly.

"Nice to meet you Eren." 

"Y-You too!" Eren yelled after him, door closing after he finished. Eren watched Levi walk to the blind man, offer the coffee with a soft face and proceeded to squeak when Levi met his eyes with a smirk.

-

"Levi asked for you, by name may I add," Armin told him, flipping the  **closed** sign. "Just the other day. He also complimented the cookies. I told him you made them."

Eren dropped his broom. 

"Oh my god, really?" 

Behind him, also on morning baking-duty, Krista giggled in her hand. 

"What were his exact words?" He begged, tugging on Armin's pressed white shirt.

The blond pushed him away with a huff and smile, smoothing out the wrinkles. 

"He said, 'Not bad. Where's that Eren kid?'" 

Giddy, Eren looked to the clock, smiling so wide it hurt. 

"Five minutes!" He scrambled to pat down his hair, tuck in his own white button-up, and put away the broom. 

Krista watched with amusement. 

"You're so cute, Eren." 

He flushed, waving her back to the kitchen. "Stop, no, crap, I don't need to be red  _before_  he comes in!" 

Armin rolled his eyes, leading Krista into the back. "Whatever, we'll leave you two alone."

Eren blushed brighter, cursing his friends. 

Not a minute after seven, the door twinkled and in stepped Levi, ever punctual. He looked nervous and immediately, Eren was concerned. 

"Morning, Levi." He leaned over the counter. "Are you okay?" 

The man looked surprised, but didn't pause as he made his way to the counter. He tapped his fingers on the black top, four times, once, four again. 

"Fine." 

So his limited vocabulary was back. Eren noticeably slumped, but tried to cover his disappointment with a professional smile. 

"Your usual?" 

Levi nodded before exhaling shakily. His cheeks were flushing rosily. 

Eren hummed to distract himself as he made the coffee. He poured Levi an extra anyway, shaking his head when the man made to pull out more money. 

"No worries," He said, getting the milk out again. As a peace offering, he wiped down the handle before turning to grab the cookie. "I've got it." 

Huffing, Levi poured his milk. 

"Thank you, Eren." 

Not trusting himself to mess up, the baker nodded. He slid the cookie in the bag and took the money. Like always, Levi put the left over change in the jar. 

But their routine was broken. Levi didn't immediately leave. He looked sick, but his cheeks were still amaranth. Eren squirmed in the silence. 

"I wanted to thank you for the extra coffee the other day, but you weren't there. Also, the," He paused and Eren felt another spiral of warmth flow through him at his lack of 'um's or 'uh's. Levi was simply too good for them. "The cookie was... good." 

Bitch face crumbling, he stopped tapping and turned to watch outside the large window overlooking the street. 

"Would you like, to," He swallowed, looking back to Eren, who was internally screaming. "Get coffee? With me? Sometime?"

Oh no, he was adorable too. Eren resisted dancing behind the counter. He broke out into a loving smile, hands trembling.

"Yes!" He yelled, heart threatening to jump out of its cage. He quickly apologized for his outside voice. "I mean, yes, I'd love to."

-

"Seduction by baked goods," Armin commented, peeking from behind the kitchen door, snorting. Krista was leaning beside him, holding back her own giggles. "Who knew." 

**Author's Note:**

> That has been in my drafts for months. And I made a new friend, so she inspired me to finish. Thanks MG. ^^
> 
> Also posted on my tumblr: cotttontale


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